US markets logged a mixed performance - Dow added +38-points or +0.14% to extend its recent rally into a fourth consecutive session, with Caterpillar Inc (up +3.7%) the leading index performer. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.01%, with Energy (up +1.85%) and Financials (+1.54%) the leading sector performers. AT&T Inc rose +1.49% after activist hedge fund Elliott Management revealed a $3.2B stake in the telecom giant. In a letter to shareholders, Elliott said AT&T can “improve its business and realise a historic increase in value.”The technology-centric NASDAQ slipped -0.19%. Alphabet Inc (down -0.1%) pared an earlier ~1% fall that came on reports that 50 attorneys general are joining an antitrust probe against Google. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index outperformed with a climb of +1.3%. A number of traders were noting signs of an interesting rotation overnight, with value-oriented stocks enjoying one of their strongest days of the year relative to their growth counterparts. Energy and financial stocks - two mainstays of value investors—are rallying while technology and health-care stocks, longtime favourites of growth buyers, are lower. Software stocks were hit particularly hard.
